


Apple Juice

by starlithero



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Anthropomorphic, Enemies to Friends, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, Other, just a little bit of angst tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25173139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlithero/pseuds/starlithero
Summary: As Dedede's most loyal subject, Bandana Dee's greatest enemy and rival is Kirby - but there's something more to the strange hero that piques his interest.
Relationships: Bandana Waddle Dee/Kirby
Comments: 9
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is wondering why this is tagged as "other", it's because kirby is nonbinary and will use any pronouns; bandana uses male pronouns for kirby and this is written from his perspective

When the Great King set out for revenge against the pink puff, stealing the sparkling stars, fortifying his castle with as much firepower as he could muster and challenging them to take him on, Kirby had ripped through every last line of King Dedede’s defenses, until all that was left was little Bandana.

His heart pounded in his throat, body trembling, eyes wide with terror. Dedede looked so stressed that Bandana could’ve sworn he saw the king sprouting grey hairs on the spot.

“Great King! Kirby made it here! What do we do?!”

Dedede sighed, deeply, shakily. He looked like he was about to be sick.

“O… Okay then. I guess it’s your turn.”

Bandana’s heart lurched with fear. He had to fight Kirby, the menace who’d taken down all of Dedede’s incredibly powerful allies with ease and blasted through the castle’s reinforcements like they were made of craft glue and wet tissue paper.

“B-but, Great King, I can’t do it alone!”

Dedede’s wild gaze shifted to the little Waddle Dee, and a flash of pity overtook his face. He rose from his throne, an absolute mountain of a man, so large and imposing over Bandana. 

“...Fine, you can go. You’ve been spared.”

He turned on his heel and ducked into the door behind the throne.

“Don’t go, King! Great King!!” Dedede ignored Bandana’s cries and descended into the darkness, ready for his final match with Kirby.

Little footsteps sounded at the front of the great hall. Bandana didn’t need to turn around to know exactly who they belonged to, and he tried so hard to not let his fear consume him. What did Kirby even look like? He’d never met him before, or even  _ seen _ him, only knowing the sparse details that the other Dees had given him. Was he an imposing knight in shining armor? A wild-eyed bandit, hungry for blood?

_ Pink _ . That was all he’d been told.

Finally, the anticipation was too much to bear, and he whirled around, ready for the being approaching to scare the living daylights out of him.

“Hi~!”

...

Bandana couldn’t even find words to say.

Staring back at him was something  _ pink.  _ Pink and round with bright rosy cheeks, a smile like the sun, and dark blue eyes that looked like the deep void of space. 

A  _ child _ . He couldn’t have been any older than Bandana himself. His hair was long and messy and wonderfully fluffy-looking. He was on the short and chubby side, hands in the pockets of his pink overalls, an oversized yellow neckerchief under his chin.

This was Kirby. There was absolutely no doubt about it. His cheery, inquisitive gaze made Bandana’s heart lurch just a little bit; whether it was from surprise or fear, he couldn’t tell.

“Where’s Dedede?” 

His voice was light and adorable, like a fresh breeze. Bandana snapped out of his trance and stood his ground, raising his fists in preparation for a fight. He was trembling so badly, but he had to be brave.

“I can’t let you pass! I have to protect His Majesty!!”

Kirby frowned, seeming disappointed. He took his hand out of his pocket and held it out, pointing at the Dee in the shape of a finger gun. Light gathered at his fingertips, and Bandana hardly even had time to brace himself.

The star-shaped blast of energy sent him flying back into the King’s throne and knocked the wind right out of his lungs. Bandana gasped for breath, but found himself choking on nothing, bright lights dancing in his vision, chest stinging from the impact.

Kirby walked on past casually, humming a melody. Bandana tried to right himself and get at Kirby somehow, but he couldn’t even lift his arm, much less put up any sort of display.

Defeated in one hit. How humiliating. 

Kirby disappeared into the door, ready to settle his rivalry with King Dedede for once and all.

* * *

Once Bandana had regained the ability to breathe, he quickly dipped into the room behind the throne, just in time to witness the intense cage match between Kirby and King Dedede.

The king had upgraded his equipment - a menacing metal mask, and a massive mechanical hammer, one far too heavy for any ordinary person to wield, but Dedede was no ordinary person. Bandana had seen him training intensely for months on end, practicing his movement and his technique and his swings and becoming stronger and stronger to squash the troublesome pink puff into a pancake. Even if it may have been a petty cause, the sheer dedication was nothing to sneeze at, and it lit a flame of inspiration in the little Dee’s heart.

It still wasn’t enough for Kirby, though. He’d taken up a hammer as well, his clothes now more fitting for their battle, and Bandana finally understood what it was about him that was so downright  _ terrifying _ . He may have not had Dedede’s raw strength, and though he struggled to combat him at first, giving him the upper hand, he possessed something incredible. Sheer adaptation. 

And as the battle went on, he began to close in on Dedede, at first shoddily imitating his technique, then perfectly copying it, and then  _ improving  _ it, fighting with skill that even Dedede couldn’t approach. What had once been a clear-cut victory for Dedede slowly progressed into an uphill battle for the king, and Bandana screamed his lungs out, cheering, hoping even his little words of encouragement could ignite a fire in his heart and give the great king the strength to power through.

But it wasn’t enough. With one final swing of the hammer, Kirby launched Dedede out of his caged arena. It was over.

“Why can’t we beat you??” Bandana shrieked, rattling the chainlink fence.

Kirby let out a breath he’d been holding in and glanced over at the Dee. His eyes met the Dee’s, and he simply shrugged.

After all this time King Dedede had spent honing his technique, ready to finally best Kirby for once and all, Kirby had somehow copied all his training and turned it against him?? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all! Hard work and effort should be rewarded!

Bandana yelled with frustration as Kirby tossed away the hammer, his clothes shifting to the pink overalls he’d worn earlier, and simply walked back to where he came from

What on earth was Kirby? He was some sort of otherworldly force hidden under an adorable pink guise, with strange powers no one understood. Could he even be beaten?

* * *

After that, King Dedede gave up on trying to best Kirby, despite Bandana’s words of encouragement.

“There’s no point in it, kiddo. Kirby’s taken down ancient warlocks and aliens on his own. He just can’t be beaten.”

“That’s not fair!!” Bandana cried, clinging onto Dedede’s sleeve. The king sighed, looking dejected.

“Just ‘cause it ain’t fair don’t mean it didn’t happen anyways.”

“It shouldn’t happen!”

Dedede shrugged, sighed.

“I’m not gonna bother pickin’ fights with ‘im anymore. It’s bad for my PR. If I’m gonna claim this land as my own, I might as well do a decent job runnin’ it instead of trying to beat up that little squirt.”

The king ruffled Bandana’s hair affectionately, smiling. 

“You’re a good kid, y’know. You’ve got a lot of passion and I can see it in ya. I’ll probably never beat Kirby, but who knows, maybe you can do it.”

Bandana stopped and caught his breath. “You… you really think so, Great King?”

“Sure! Why not?”

Bandana’s heart leapt with joy. The Great King had faith that Bandana could do what he could not. King Dedede believed in him. 

“Where should I start??”

Dedede put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “How ‘bout you ask some of the castle guards to train ya with spears?”

“Of course, Great King!! I’ll start right away!”

Dedede laughed, a hearty and deep laugh that echoed through the throne room. “Well, go get ‘em, tiger! It’ll be hard, but you got this.”

And it was hard.  _ So _ hard. 

Every day, Bandana would drag himself out of bed at sunrise, way earlier than he ever would want to for his training. The castle guards would rotate their shifts, showing him at first how to hold a proper fighting stance, then how to hold his spear correctly with a grip that would ensure versatility in strength. The basics of movement. Simple jabs and thrusts with the spear. Beginners’ techniques - though Bandana was quite eager to learn, the guards reminded him to take it slow, to practice what little he had learned until it was second nature.

And Bandana did just that, for hours into the day, until he was drenched in sweat and he had to make a run down the mountain that Castle Dedede was situated on towards one of the springs and dive in and let the fresh cold mountain water clean him off. He’d treat himself to apple juice - his favorite drink, a trait he shared with his sibling (who’d run off to join a crew of knights, he often worried about how they were doing), and he told himself that this routine would surely make him stronger and he’d someday overcome Kirby. He envisioned Kirby’s defeat in his mind’s eye, his shocked expression as Bandana finally proved to him that his own hard work was stronger than Kirby’s freaky powers, and wondered if he would become jealous, getting a little excited at the thought. It was so thrilling to have a passion to work towards, a reason for being, a goal to achieve, and it filled his entire being with faith and determination.

* * *

One day, he overworked himself. 

His jabs were sloppy and had no strength behind them. His form was all wrong and his grip was loose, and the castle guards easily disarmed him and knocked him over in their sparring.

What was wrong? He’d worked so hard yesterday. He was doing so well. Was he getting worse all the sudden? He’d never live up to the promise he made to Dedede if stuff like this happened!

“Hey, you should probably take it easy-”

“I can’t!!” Bandana cried. The guard he was sparring stepped back, mildly alarmed. “I promised the king that I’d get strong enough to beat Kirby!”

“Not in that condition.”

Tears welled in Bandana’s eyes, his heart ached and his body trembled with anger. He wasn’t good enough. He was doing something wrong. He was never going to beat Kirby, he was going to disappoint Dedede-

He burst into tears, pushed away the guard’s comforting hand, and ran out of the courtyard and to his hiding place.

Diving in the cold spring’s water helped clear his mind just a little bit, but thoughts of inadequacy still spun around in his head and taunted him. He wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t good enough to beat Kirby, and he wasn’t ever going to be good enough.

“Yo, kid, you okay?”

Bandana, drenched, spun around wildly in the water, trying to find the source of the voice.

A green-haired witch lounged on a rock poking out of the water, taking bites out of a skewer of meat and grilled vegetables. Their eyes were bright jade and sleepy-looking, concealed in shadow by their green hair and a wide-brimmed striped witch’s hat. They wore a blue and yellow shirt and shorts, a cute red-yellow shawl around their shoulders, and red boots. Their broom, tied with a red ribbon, sat a few feet away from them. Three onions perched precariously on the brim of their hat.

“I could hear you crying from all the way up the top of the hill. What’s wrong?”

“Uhh…” Bandana had never seen this person before in their life. “Who are you?”

“Name’s Gryll.” They tore a chunk of fish off the skewer and chewed loudly. “I come here to chill sometimes. What’s yours?”

“Bandana Dee.”

Gryll patted the rock beside them. “Wanna sit?”

“Um…” Gryll certainly looked strange, but they seemed friendly enough. “Sure.”

Bandana swam over and pulled himself up out of the water. Gryll tilted their head at him with a friendly smile.

“So what’s goin’ on?”

“...I’m really bad with a spear.”

“What, you tryna fight monsters or something?”

“No, I wanna get really good with a spear so I can beat Kirby and make the Great King really proud!” Bandana beamed before his face fell once again. “But… I’m not good enough. I was doing really badly today.”

Gryll crunched on a grilled vegetable. “Kirby, huh? I know that kid. He whooped my butt in Star Stacker, and I’m the best damn star stacker this side of the galaxy.”

“You’ve met Kirby??”

“Yeah. Sweet kid.” Gryll said through a mouthful of bell pepper. “Can’t say I wasn’t a bit embarrassed to lose to ‘im, but he means well. He’s just naturally talented, I s’pose.”

Bandana looked down glumly. Gryll patted him on the back.

“Any reason you’re trying to beat ‘im?”

“...The Great King wasn’t able to beat Kirby, even though he trained for so long to win against him. And he said that he believed I could do it if I tried hard enough, and he said he believed in me.”

Gryll put a hand on their chin, the gears in their head turning. “Yeah, I bet you could.”

“You think so too??”

“Yeah. But listen.” Gryll’s casual expression shifted to a more serious one, their sleepy gaze suddenly becoming attentive. “You gotta know something really important if you’re gonna make that your goal. I’m the best Star Stacker player out there, probably, but I didn’t get there by just playing the game over and over and fighting a bunch of different opponents until I was really good at it - there’s another part to it that’s just as important, if not  _ more  _ important than practice.”

Bandana tilted his head. “What is it?”

“When you pursue something as your passion and you want to become skilled at it, the way you… think about it, is  _ super _ important. The way you approach it and regard it in your mind. You can’t just rush into something and expect yourself to be a master of it in a month. You’ve gotta give yourself time and you’ve gotta be forgiving when you screw up or you don’t do as well as you want, or when an accident happens or whatever. Even if you have something to prove... you can’t tie your self-worth to your passion.”

Their face fell for a split second, and Bandana felt as though he saw some pain in their eyes, like it was a lesson that Gryll had to learn the hard way.

“No matter what you do or how good you are, you’re gonna have good days and you’re gonna have bad days, and that’s just how it is.” Gryll continued. “Give yourself the time to experiment and learn and reflect and hone your craft -  _ that’s _ how you truly become good at something you love.”

Dedede had never talked about anything like this - only the endless grind to get stronger, better than Kirby.

“And never forget there’s always something more you can learn. If Kirby can beat me, then there’s clearly things I still have yet to learn about my game. Right?”

“...Yeah.”

“Feelin’ any better?”

“I think so.” Bandana Dee wiped the water off his face. “What should I do now?”

“Sounds like you need a little bit of a break and some time to reflect on what you can improve on.”

“...Thank you, Gryll.”

“Oh- and take this.” Gryll dug into their pocket and held out a piece of silky red ribbon. “Call it a good-luck charm.”

So he took Gryll’s advice and charm, and the green-haired witch wished him well before he returned to the castle once again. Take a day or two for a break, rest, think about what could go better, and return to the grind again. 

He tied the ribbon around the head of his spear. It stood out among the other guards.

And it went slowly over the months and he grew older, but he was learning. He moved on from the basics to more advanced techniques, and he got closer and closer to being able to beat the castle guards in their sparring matches. 

And then one day, with a couple graceful spins of his spear, he finally took down one, pinning them to the ground with a knee, and the other guards in attendance clapped for him, making him blush like crazy with all the praise. But he was getting there. He was getting better and stronger.

From a window, he saw King Dedede watching, his arms folded and his face filled with pride, and his heart soared and he felt like he was flying. He felt like he could do anything. 

When the day’s training was over, he started making up a little song about apple juice in his head as he collected apples at the orchard at the base of the mountain. 

* * *

After a few years, Dedede appointed him to be a guard, despite how young he was. Bandana was overjoyed to take the position, though many others would consider it to be a dull and boring job. 

Being a castle guard, though, meant that he had to deal with Kirby’s frequent break-ins. 

“Hey!”

This time he caught him running through one of the hallways. Kirby’s head whipped around to meet Bandana’s glare. He was grasping onto a basket of cookies. He’d gotten taller since their last fight - he’d cut his hair short, too, though it was still fluffy and soft-looking, and he’d grown out of the overalls and now wore a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a pink tee shirt and yellow shorts that reached to his knees.

“This is the last time you’ll break into our kitchen!”

Kirby smiled, recognizing Bandana, his adorable grin making Bandana’s face oddly tingly. “You want a cookie?”

Bandana glared even harder at him. “I want you to put them back, or else I’ll fight you!”

Kirby stuck his tongue out playfully at Bandana, prompting the Dee to rush him down with his spear. He was focused and concentrated, his stance strong and his movement swift, and he nearly pinned Kirby down by the wall, but Kirby managed to duck out of the way in time.

“Hiyah!”

Swinging around his weapon, he used his momentum to turn himself around and unleash a few more rapid jabs at Kirby, who airily dodged out of the way, almost floating on his feet, steps far too light to be natural. With his free hand, Kirby prepared to fire a star shot at Bandana, but the spearsman promised himself he’d never get hit by that again. 

With a swing of his spear, he swatted the shot back at Kirby, who dodged out of the way.

“Woah.” Kirby breathed, his eyes glittering in awe. “This sure is different from last time.”

“It better be!” Bandana shouted, lunging forward once again. Kirby sidestepped him, practically floating away once again.

“What’s your name?” He asked, all too casually.

“Bandana Dee! You better not forget it, too!”

Kirby offered his free hand cheerily. “Wanna be friends?”

What? They were in the middle of a fight. Where did this come from?

“No! Get out of here!” He yelled, angrily.

Kirby seemed taken aback, then saddened. He suddenly looked like he was going to cry, and Bandana’s heart sunk.

“Oh.”

“No- wait, I uh-”

“It’s okay.” Kirby shook his head and smiled apologetically.

Being around Kirby made Bandana feel so confused. He was breaking into the castle and eating their food! Why did he feel bad for him?? He stood there, unable to move, a bunch of different thoughts cycling through his head all at once.

“Hey- wait!”

Finally snapping out of his daze, he whirled around, trying to find Kirby. It seemed like he’d ran off somewhere - probably away, with the food that Bandana was supposed to protect. He’d embarrassed him once again. Ugh. He sucked at his job.

Bandana trudged back to his position, head hung in shame. 

Bandana couldn’t chase Kirby out of his thoughts throughout the entire day. Nor could he stop thinking about him as he tossed and turned in bed. Sure, it was wrong that Kirby was eating their food, but Bandana had been way too mean...

Kirby, the hero who rode in on a spring breeze, who’d saved the land countless times by now. A little bit reckless and a troublemaker, but always stepped up to the plate when the time came. Nothing scared him, not even the deepest of terrors that dragged themselves out of the maw of the cosmos - he was brave and confident and always had a smile on his face. 

He was everything Bandana wished he could be.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Kirby’s  _ face _ when he said he didn’t want to be friends. It was nothing like the casual, playful smile that he always seemed to have. It was nothing like what Bandana knew about Kirby at all.

For the first time, Bandana Dee wanted to talk to Kirby. After a long bout of restlessness, he coaxed himself to sleep, and in his dreams he went on a picnic with Kirby.

By the next day, Bandana had finally made up his mind, and rushed down Mount Dedede after his practice.

He wasn’t sure exactly where Kirby’s house was - apparently in a field somewhere between the mountain and the nearby ocean. One of the maids in the castle was kind enough to direct him the right way, and he was soon jogging along the dirt road, taking in the soft spring breeze. He could smell the sea, and he thought of his sibling again, somewhere out there sailing the seas and stars with Meta Knight’s mercenaries.

A little white dome came up on the horizon, and soon after he’d come up to its doorstep. A large tree hung over it, a wooden swing tied to one of its thick branches.

He was suddenly filled with the overwhelming desire to not be there. Okay, don’t chicken out, he thought to himself as he took a deep breath, hand hovering just above the door. It took a few more seconds of internal conflict before he finally forced himself to be brave and knock.

A beat. Little footsteps shuffled behind the door. It cracked open, letting one of Kirby’s eyes peep out.

“Oh… Hey…”

“Uh.” Any speech that Bandana had planned in his head had flown straight out the window. “Hi.”

There was an extremely awkward silence between the two of them before Kirby opened the door more fully. His fluffy hair was a mess and his eyes looked sleepy. It seemed like he’d been taking a nap.

“I, uh. Brought you something.” Bandana stated after an awkward silence, holding out the bundle he’d carefully carried all the way down here.

Kirby tilted his head in curiosity.

“Do you wanna come in?”

“U-uh, uh, sure.”  _ Why did I say that?  _ He thought to himself,  _ I could’ve just left it here.  _ He shuffled inside, not quite meeting Kirby’s eyes.

Kirby’s house was quite small and cozy, but it was very cute. It seemed like there were only one or two rooms. This room was nothing more than a fireplace in the corner, a cushy-looking yellow couch, a table with some drawing supplies stacked on it, a nearby cabinet and a coat rack behind the door. A bunch of little knick-knacks and tokens and whatnot were arranged on the mantle of the fireplace.

“I, um.” Bandana hesitated for a second. “I’m… really sorry about yesterday. So I brought you this to make up for it.”

He unwrapped the bundle he’d been carrying, revealing a crisp apple pie. Bandana couldn’t say that he was that interested in baking, but he’d given it his best shot and all he could hope was that Kirby appreciated the gesture. The smell of apple and cinnamon filled the room. 

Kirby’s eyes grew wide, sparkling with hunger. 

“You really mean it?!”

“Y-yeah.”

Bandana knew he shouldn’t’ve been shocked at Kirby’s overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction to his gift, but seeing Kirby so happy tickled something in his heart. He didn’t realize his cheeks were totally flushed until it was too late, but thankfully Kirby didn’t seem to notice. 

“Thank you!! I’ll get plates!”

Kirby ducked into a side room - likely his kitchen - and Bandana had a moment to sigh with nervousness. He could hear the clattering of porcelain and silverware before Kirby darted back into the room with plates and forks in hand.

“I don’t have any ice cream, sorry.” Kirby apologized.

“Ah- it’s fine.” Bandana was somewhat taken aback by Kirby’s sudden generosity - Bandana was so used to the Kirby that would break into the kitchen and eat Dedede’s freshly-baked cakes before running off, and just the other day Bandana had yelled at him and almost made him cry, and now here Kirby was offering to share a pie with him.

Kirby cut a slice of the pie, and the smell of apple and cinnamon wafted through the air. Bandana could see Kirby drooling slightly, but he handed Bandana a thick piece of pie, before cutting one for himself.

Kirby took a large bite, and his eyes sparkled with delight, his cheeks flushing a deep rosy red. 

“This is… the best pie I’ve ever had!”

Bandana’s heart warmed with the praise, and any guilt he’d been harboring melted away.

“You really mean it?”

“Of course! And I’ve had lots of pies, trust me.” Kirby grinned widely, sincerity radiating off of him. His face was practically beaming with happiness, and the comfort of the situation soon gave way to small talk. Bandana tried his own slice - it _was_ a good pie. He was proud of his own handiwork.  


“I’ve always wondered,” He started, licking the sticky syrup off his fingers. “...Sorry if this is a weird question, but where are you from? Dedede said you aren’t from Popstar.”

Kirby thought about this for a little bit. “I dunno!”

“You don’t?”

“Can’t remember.” He took a large bite of pie. “The first thing I can remember is a bunch of weird colors everywhere. And then a big green field, I think. And then some people showed up! They said they found me where a meteor landed. But I dunno anything about that. What about you?”

“Huh?”

“The village people said that Dedede invaded Dreamland right before they found me. Did you come with him?”

“Uh- yeah.” Bandana stumbled over his words a bit. “We’re from the Popopo archipelago. It’s in the south - it’s tropical. The Great King’s family rules over it, but he wanted more territory, so me and my twin and some others went up with him to Dreamland.”

Bandana wasn’t quite sure if this venture was really even successful, since no-one in Dreamland seemed to actually acknowledge either King Dedede’s royalty or his claiming of the land.

“That’s so cool - you have a twin?”

“Yeah, Sailor. They left and joined Meta Knight’s mercenaries after the stuff with the Fountain of Dreams happened. They come to visit every now and then, but I don’t think the King is very happy about them running away to join Meta Knight...”

“Oh - Saidee!” Kirby exclaimed. “I know them!”

“Oh, wow, small worl- Saidee?”

Kirby grinned. “That’s the nickname I made up for them, ‘cus they have a sailor hat! You want a nickname, too?”

“...Sure?”

“Okay, you have a bandana… so you’ll be Bandee!”

“Bandee…”

Bandana had never had a nickname before - everyone either just called him “Dee” or “Bandana Dee”. His cheeks felt flush.

“It’s cute.” Bandana smiled. “I like it.”

Kirby smiled sheepishly. “Thanks!”

The pie was long gone by now - Bandee offered to clean up, but Kirby adamantly refused, and once he’d washed off the plate he handed it back to Bandana. “You should come play tomorrow!” Kirby said, cheerily.

“...Play? Here?”

“Yeah!” Kirby’s face fell a bit. “Do you not get to play at the castle?”

“No, it’s just - I have some important duties…” He quickly stopped himself once Kirby looked saddened. “B-but I’ll see what I can do! I’m sure the Great King would be willing to let me have a few days off…”

“So it’s a date, then!” Kirby said happily, his smile as bright as a star. Bandana’s heart suddenly started palpitating in his chest. He gave Kirby a goodbye, to the pink boy’s delight, and quickly made his way out of the house, closing the door behind him before collapsing onto it, holding the plate to his chest. 

_ What had he just gotten himself into? _


	2. Chapter 2

“Isn’t it cute?”

“Huh?”

Kirby held his hand out towards Bandana, a little red butterfly crawling around on it.

“I see this one a lot.” 

“Oh… yeah, it is cute.”

“Meta Knight told me that if you see this butterfly, something will happen.” Kirby said. “Like, a big thing. I see them all the time, though, and nothing happens.”

“It’s an old folk tale - the king used to tell me about it.” Bandana explained - it was one he was familiar with. “I think they’re omens? If you see one it means something in your life will change soon. I dunno why, though.”

The sun was quickly beginning to set, and Kirby yawned, as Bandana pulled in the last catch of the day, dropping it in his cooler. 

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Kirby asked, letting the butterfly flutter away and watching it dance around in the evening light.

“I’m working, sorry.” Bandana apologized, closing up the cooler and winding in his fishing rod.

“Aw…”

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Bandana offered. 

“Yeah!”

Helping Kirby to his feet, the two of them made their way back to Kirby’s little dome house, chatting idly about whatever came to their minds. The two of them had developed a fast-budding friendship in the months since they shared that pie together, with Kirby now coming to the castle for reasons other than just causing trouble, surely making the king sprout more gray hairs from stress. To ease his worries, he’d send Kirby and Bandana off to the apple orchard, a task the two of them were happy to fulfill, even if Kirby ended up eating a lot of the apples they were supposed to bring back. 

Kirby thanked Bandana gratuitously for the spear lessons he’d been giving him - it had come to the point that Kirby had developed an entirely new copy ability, just from sparring with Bandana, which gave the boy a little spark of pride - the ability was based on  _ him. _

“See you soon?” Kirby asked, once they’d reached his doorstep.

“Of course. I’ll let you know when I have time.”

Kirby smiled sweetly, giving a goodbye to Bandee, whose heart fell a little once Kirby closed the door behind him. 

* * *

A few days after, Dedede was chasing Kirby around for the petty crime of stealing yet another cake out of the kitchen. Kirby ran like the wind with that slice of strawberry shortcake, Dedede hot on his tail despite his physique, and Bandana trailing after them, doing his best to try and help with the chase. (Though, if he was being honest, he was mostly tagging along just to see what would happen.) Bandana caught a glimpse of Meta Knight sitting under a nearby tree, leisurely reading a book - as leisurely as one can read a book in full armor, at least.

Abruptly, the sky above ripped open, revealing another dimension behind the torn fabric of space, and a beautiful blue ship soared out before it promptly exploded and lost many, many parts and crashed in the nearby hills, leaving behind a huge ditch. 

Kirby, not one to waste a moment, immediately dashed over to the crash site, leaving the king and Bandana no choice but to follow.

The little alien pilot inside, a fellow dressed up in blue robes that only allowed his bright yellow eyes to be seen, seemed greatly distressed at the state of his vehicle. He introduced himself as Magolor and rapidly explained that he was from a different world, that his precious ship - the Lor Starcutter - had been attacked by a terrifying beast while soaring the cosmos and lost its functionality during his daring escape.

King Dedede and Meta Knight eyed him with suspicion, but Kirby immediately stepped up and offered his help to restore the pieces of Magolor’s spaceship. Bandana felt a little wary, but he really did want to help this stranger, though Dedede was going to have the final say in that.

“The oars are over here.”

Dedede squinted at the large, flickering monitor of the ship. “That’s Cookie Country, ain’t it? That’s just o’er the border of Dreamland.”

“How convenient!” Magolor exclaimed. “Retrieving them should be no trouble for a strong guy like you, then.”

“I haven’t promised you anything yet, buddy.” Dedede growled.

“C’mon, Dedede…” Kirby pleaded. “He just wants to get home!”

With some skillfully-applied puppy-dog eyes from both Kirby and Magolor, the king finally obliged. Meta Knight didn’t seem fully convinced of Magolor’s tale, but the swordsman was unable to resist the call of adventure.

The four unlikely allies set off to collect the missing parts of the ship that had been scattered across the land on a weeks-long journey across the planet, while Magolor stayed behind with the Lor Starcutter, working on repairing the ship.

Eventually, when they’d talked and walked and fought and bled together, and they’d dipped into other dimensions and faraway lands, the quartet finally reclaimed every last piece the Starcutter needed to fly again. Magolor had previously offered them a trip to his home planet as a reward for helping repair the starship, and Kirby was ready to take him up on it. 

"...and a promise is a promise.” Magolor began. “I owe you a trip to my home. A trip to...Halcandra!" 

Meta Knight suddenly froze up.

“Kirby, I am not sure if this is a good idea.” The knight stated coldly.

“Aw, why?” Kirby whined.

“I know of Halcandra. It is a dangerous world.”

“You know your planets, huh?” Magolor said, with some cheekiness in his voice. “I promise we’ll be safe! The Lor’s decked out with combat capabilities - besides, there isn’t too much to worry about there.”

“As long as the ship doesn’t go down again.” Meta Knight warned. 

“Pssh, we’ll be fine.”

It was exciting, until a four-headed dragon shot down the ship. Again.

While King Dedede held back Meta Knight before he could try to stab Magolor, the little pilot explained how the dragon had recently awoken and had been rampaging across the planet, prompting Magolor to escape Halcandra, and asked that they defeat it. A scary prospect, but Kirby stepped right up to the plate. Though he was full of contempt for Magolor at the moment, Meta Knight was eager for a good challenge, and Dedede shared the same sentiment. And Bandana went wherever the king went.

The quartet worked their way through the great ruins of scrap and molten lava called Halcandra. Magolor explained to them it had once been a bustling, shining metropolis, home to an empire that spanned across the galaxy, until one day the heavens split open and leveled it all to the ground, its greatest warrior suddenly turned on them in divine wrath. And like a roaring flame it had burned out and dwindled down to these sad embers.

Meta Knight shuddered at those words, and Bandana didn’t understand why.

They worked their way up the massive volcano that towered over the sprawling ruins, and in its caldera, they met the crazed, four-headed dragon Landia, protector of the planet. It was now or never to free Halcandra from its clutches.

“...It’s over…”

Landia lay before them - split into four, not dead, but certainly scuffed from battle, and unconscious. Bandana only now noticed the shining crown on the main dragon’s head, clattering to the ground, rolling towards Kirby’s feet. 

“Bravo, Kirby!” A familiar, squeaky voice called from up above the quartet. Bandana jolted and glanced upwards, seeing Magolor’s small figure float down from the sky as he clapped slowly, surrounded in a foreboding aura. “You've truly earned your reputation as a hero! Your help defeating Landia was invaluable.”

“...Magolor?” Kirby whispered. “Why are you here?”

Magolor ignored Kirby’s question and landed gracefully on the ground before Landia, bending down to pick up the crown that once rested on the dragon’s head. As if responding to him, the jewelry began to float, cupped in the air by Magolor’s hands. 

"Ah... At long last, it's mine...!” Magolor cackled, uncharacteristically. “The source of limitless power... The Master Crown!" 

Kirby was frozen in place, eyes wide with surprise as the crown came to rest on Magolor’s head, and the air between them burst with light and energy. 

"Ha! Finally...” His voice rang, now deep and corrupt-sounding. “Obtaining this crown has been my ultimate goal all along!" 

The sight of Magolor’s new form, imposing and titanic, overflowing with magical power with the crown now practically wrapped around his skull struck fear in their hearts. Bandana shrieked in fear, trying to scramble away and instead tripping over himself. Dedede didn’t respond, his jaw dropped to the floor in pure horror. Meta Knight stanced himself, ready for any attack Magolor could throw out, and Kirby still stayed frozen in shock, his hands trembling. Magolor flung Landia aside, descending to look down at Kirby with his newfound size.

"...What's with all the weird looks?” Magolor huffed, looking down at the quartet with contempt. “Fine… Let me explain everything. I fought Landia by myself and lost. So I fled to Planet Popstar, and encountered the four of you - all strong in your own right. That's when the thought struck me... I could have you defeat Landia for me! Heh, a stroke of genius, I know." His expression shifted from smug and proud to something akin to genuine gratitude. "You even helped me repair my Starcutter. I really did appreciate that, by the way." 

“M…” Kirby’s voice trembled, sounding devastated. “Magolor, I thought we were friends… Why?”

Magolor dismissed his plea with a hand. “Anyway…” The magician let out a long cackle of pure delight. “The time has come for your planet... No!” The space behind Magolor began to split and crack open, the telltale signs of an interdimensional portal, and Bandana, having gotten himself sitting upright now, could see Popstar’s gleaming form deep within. “The time has come for the entire  _ universe _ to bow down to me. And for being  _ such _ a big help in all of this, your planet gets to go first!" 

Kirby took a shaky step forward. “Mago, please-”

"Prepare to bow, Popstar! Welcome your new overlord!" 

He flung himself backwards into the portal, gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the quartet alone in the caldera. 

Kirby fell to his knees, heartbroken by Magolor’s betrayal. There was total silence among them.

A scraping noise came from behind the group. One of the Landia dragons quietly walked up to Kirby, picking him up by the neckerchief like a mother cat and placing him on its back. 

“Kirby,” Meta Knight called out. “I believe Landia wants your help to defeat Magolor.”

The little dragon huffed as though in affirmation, and two other Landias came up to Dedede and Meta Knight, who quickly got the idea and hopped on their backs. The last dragon blinked slowly, and without wasting a moment, Bandana slid onto its scaly back, gripping one of its horns as they prepared to chase after Magolor. 

With a flap of its wings, they were off into Another Dimension.

The next hour was totally surreal - the dragons all soared through the chaotic world, carrying the heroes with them, as hordes of the native Doomers in the interdimensional tunnel came after them, obviously disturbed by their presence. Even Magolor did his best to slow the group’s progress, going as far as summoning the ship that they’d worked so hard to piece back together.

The dragons and Magolor exchanged fire for several minutes, before the Lor Starcutter was finally shot down for a third time.

Magolor growled unnaturally, clearly displeased at the loss of his ship. “...Come  _ on,  _ Kirby! If you just stayed out of my way I wouldn’t have to attack you! You obviously don’t know what’s good for you.”

“I won’t let you rule Popstar!” Kirby shouted back, his voice cracking.

“Die, then.” Magolor grumbled, preparing a blast of dark energy and gunning straight for Kirby.

The sudden barrage of bullets was too much for them to handle. One by one, they were all knocked off their mounts, falling to the warped space below. 

The four landed in a field of misty blue dimensional terrain, the portal to Popstar visible in the distance, growing ever larger.

“...Y’all good?” Dedede groaned, picking himself up from the hard fall.

Before anyone could give him an affirmative, Magolor appeared before them in a flash of warped space. 

“Honestly, Kirby, I thought you’d understand.” The corrupt wizard began, as Kirby shakily got to his feet. “I wasn’t sure your _idiot_ _friends_ would get it, but I had faith in you. You’re a _hero_ , you should know how many selfish people there are in this world, fighting over pointless things! It’d certainly be a lot more peaceful if someone was running the whole show.”

“You betrayed us! You betrayed  _ Kirby _ !” Bandana shouted, his throat sore.

“Shut up, I didn’t ask you.” Magolor growled, holding a ball of potent energy in his hand and threatening to toss it Bandana’s way.

“Magolor…” Kirby croaked. “No one wants to live under someone’s control! That’s not what peace is…”

Magolor drifted backwards, hands folded across his chest. “Alright,  _ friend _ , we have different ideas. I see how it is. Thanks for all your help - and I really mean it - but I don’t need you anymore. I’ll crush you where you stand!”

“I’ll stop you-“ Kirby began, pointing at Magolor, a burst of light upon his fingertips, “-for everyone’s sake!”

Magic circles appeared around Magolor as the quartet drew their weapons. The battle for the universe had begun.

Bandana’s strikes were perfect and on point, his stances solid and unshakeable, his movements fluid. He’d never felt so  _ strong _ before, and what a good time for it too, at the edge of the world, fighting for what he loved. Pure adrenaline fueled him as he gracefully dodged out of the way of Magolor’s attacks, ducking and weaving, the whole quartet working in harmony to bring down the wizard.

And then, Kirby finally struck down Magolor with the full power of the Ultra Sword.

Bandana Dee had never seen anything so beautiful before - Kirby, screaming, crying out to Magolor, rainbow light dancing all around him as he channeled a power no one could fathom in the eleventh hour, their last bid to save everything they’d ever known. He broke through Magolor’s shield and plunged the Ultra Sword deep into him.

The Master Crown overtook Magolor’s body, and he transformed into something twisted and wrong. The real battle began.

And after a long ordeal, a never-ending battle against the unknowable being that now called Magolor its vessel, it was over. Magolor, freed from the clutches of the crown, vanished into thin air. They fled the collapsing dimension with the help of Landia, the Lor Starcutter tailing behind. The dragons just barely managed to make it through the shrinking portal, and deposited them back on their home planet they’d fought so hard to protect.

Dedede sighed, caked in dirt, his robes all scorched from Magolor’s intense magic. “Well, you did it again, kiddo. Ya saved the whole galaxy, for what, the fifth time?”

“I didn’t save it.” Kirby said, smiling, the little red butterfly crawling around on his outstretched hand as he finished waved goodbye to Landia and the Lor. “ _ We _ saved it.”

Bandana’s exhausted heart filled up with those words, and he realized, then, in that moment, he no longer lived for Dedede’s praise. He wanted to protect this planet he’d been born and raised on and had come to love so dearly.

King Dedede sighed and pulled the four of them into a hug. Meta Knight immediately tried to struggle free but could not escape Dedede’s vice grip. Kirby laughed, Dedede broke into a huge grin, and Bandana smiled warmly, full of newfound purpose.

* * *

Dedede promoted Bandana to the captain of his royal guard - really, no one else fit the bill, but Bandana almost felt like he didn’t deserve it. The king had to remind him of all the hours and days and years he’d spent practicing his spear moves and learning everything he could, and his show of bravery against Magolor.. He was the most skilled out of all the guards - now, he was teaching  _ them _ , but he didn’t let his newfound status fuel his ego, with Gryll’s words from so long ago still echoing in his head.  _ Never forget there’s always something more you can learn. _ It was his mantra. 

Still, it was undeniable how skilled he’d become. He was proud of it. And he and Kirby were friends now - there was no need to try and overcome Kirby over a grudge anymore. Bandana liked having Kirby as a friend a lot more than having Kirby as an enemy.

More adventures happened. Later on, coincidentally on one of Bandana’s off days, a massive vine grew and pulled up Dedede’s castle into the sky, where he was promptly kidnapped by a spider-like magician who carried him off into the heavens, Kirby hot on his trail. Bandana followed along, helping out Kirby wherever he could, and they ascended further and further until they confronted the wicked queen, Sectonia, that had locked the kingdom of the sky underneath her spell. After a sound defeat from Kirby, she fused with the vine, now blossomed into a beautiful flower, and tried to sap the life out of Popstar to ascend to godhood. Kirby would have none of it, and once again he tapped into that unfathomable power to save both the kingdom of Floralia and the planet Popstar.

On a drowsy, sunny day, a hole opened in the clouds and sucked all the colors out of the land. Bandana and Kirby were saved by Elline, a magical fairy that could bring things to life with her colors, and they ventured into her homeland of Seventopia to save her best friend from the clutches of a mysterious evil, and they worked together to drive out the evil from Elline and Claycia’s pure world of creativity.

And a while after that, a spaceship descended from the sky and turned the lush world into a cold and mechanical one. Kirby ventured through it, defeating anything that got in his way, systematically taking out the legs of the spaceship ripping the life out of the planet, and Bandana chased after him, helping once again. Kirby confronted the corrupt company and its leader, and then its heart - Star Dream, a quantum supercomputer, dueling it in the sky with Meta Knight’s Halberd, and he once again found within himself that unfathomable power and saved the world for what had to have been the seventh time by this point.

Kirby was so strong and brave and could do the impossible, and even if Bandana wasn’t always able to do much he was overjoyed to help when he could. He was happy to call Kirby his friend now.

* * *

One day, dark hearts rained down from the sky. 

Bandana knew something was wrong when King Dedede had basically reverted to his old self - greedy, power-hungry, and hellbent on revenge against Kirby. He holed himself up in his castle with a hoard of rotten food, ordering his henchmen to go out and bring all the food in Dreamland to him.

“Bandana,” Dedede had told him once, a long time ago, “If Kirby isn’t there, and I get possessed by a space weirdo again, I’m gonna need you t’beat the crap out of me.”

Though it was an exceptionally weird request out of context, Bandana was, unfortunately, very familiar with this occurrence. “I understand.”

However, in Dedede’s current state, Bandana wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to take him on, much less take on the entire castle of guards. So he went out to find the only person he knew that could. 

He came back later, Kirby and Gooey and Adeleine and Ribbon in tow. What a good bunch of friends to have together to whack the evil out of the King with. 

“Wait.” Dedede called out as Kirby was about to leave. “Kirby. Let me come with you.”

“You should rest.” Kirby said. Nowadays, he’d traded his white and pink shirt for a pink and red jacket with a beautiful embroidery of Popstar on the back. It was still way too big for him, but honestly, Bandana thought it looked adorable like that. His yellow neckerchief, once oversized on him, finally fit correctly.

“I need to beat up whoever did this to me before I can feel good about myself again.”

Kirby nodded in understanding.

“Bandana.” Dedede then addressed him. “Sorry to ask this, but… can ya look after the castle? I trust you.”

Bandana nodded affirmatively. “Of course, Great King.”

Dedede cracked a smile, though he had a black eye from where Ribbon had bludgeoned him in the face with a magic crystal. “Thanks, Bandee. For upholdin’ your promise.”

Bandana’s heart warmed. He didn’t live for Dedede’s praise anymore, but it was still wholly welcome.

“We’ll help!” Adeleine piped up, holding Ribbon’s hand, who smiled in agreement. Gooey made a weird noise in some sort of gesture of solidarity.

“Thanks, Ado. Ribbon. Gooey. Y’all are good kids.”

Kirby helped him to his feet, and both of them headed out of the castle, ready to take on the new foes menacing Popstar. How much had changed since Dedede’s showdown with him all that time ago. They were all allies now, united in protecting this planet. 

After a few days, and a lot of effort spent cleaning up Castle Dedede as best as he could, Bandana found the Lor Starcutter parked in the courtyard one morning.

Magolor had come back to Dreamland several months after his initial defeat - though he was mostly reformed from his power-hungry ways, he was still kind of a bastard, but at least he didn’t try to hide it anymore. It  _ did _ take a decent amount of begging from Kirby to stop Bandee from trying to stab him, but Magolor didn’t seem to have any intention to conquer the universe, just to cause a little mayhem every now and then. And he was Kirby’s friend now, too, despite having tried to kill him at one point. Kirby just had that effect on people. 

“Get Adeleine and Ribbon and Gooey!” Magolor yelled as Bandana dashed out to the courtyard, trying to figure out why Magolor’s ship was parked there.

“Magolor, what’s go-  _ Marx? _ ”

And by god, it  _ was _ Marx. The weird clown kid who’d been the town menace for years before just vanishing one day. Bandana almost couldn’t believe his eyes, but if there was any place in the galaxy where miracles could happen, it was planet Popstar.

“Hey hey hey!” Marx grinned widely with sharp teeth, waving from the entrance of the Lor. He’d not grown an inch since Bandana had last seen him, and he still had his stupid jester hat and giant nerdy glasses, but the golden arms were new. “You wanna come beat up some weirdo space cultists?”

“Bandana, you have to get everyone together.” Magolor’s eyes were wide as he grabbed Bandana by the shoulders and shook him. “Kirby needs our help.”

From over Magolor’s shoulder, Bandana could also see a woman with slick pink hair and alien blue eyes poke her head out from the entrance of the ship. Susie, former presidential secretary of the Haltmann Works Company. What a weird ensemble.

“Of course.” Bandana nodded, before dashing back into the castle, yelling for his friends. 

The trip to Jambandra was brief - thanks to the Starcutter’s warping capabilities, mostly. Bandana had a brief moment to catch up with Marx - apparently, the whole “permanent eclipse” thing that happened way back when he wasn’t even trained with a spear yet had been the work of Marx, somehow, and Kirby had flung Marx into the clockwork star that was on a crash course for the planet so hard that it destroyed the mechanical comet and threw Marx into another dimension. Then, Marx explained, in his erratic fashion, he encountered Magolor on Halcandra, harassed the mage until they’d become friends, and eventually hitched a ride back home and goofed off around the galaxy for a few more years until news of the dark hearts drew him back to Planet Popstar. So... standard fare for the meddlesome cosmic jester.

Susie didn’t speak a word to Bandana - she was standing in a corner of a ship, using a small pocket mirror to touch up her makeup. A girl like Susie had to look best for every occasion, he supposed, even if they were about to crash a cult.

They were not welcomed warmly to the massive cathedral. Hoards of worshippers were waiting to prevent them from reaching the altar. 

Luckily, their entourage was well-equipped to deal with them. Susie kept pulling all sorts of advanced weapons from seemingly nowhere, blasting through the horde with lasers and jets and her trusty mecha. Marx was having the time of his life, unleashing raw chaotic power in the form of ice bombs and vines and exploding beach balls, causing absolute mayhem in the halls of the cathedral. Magolor summoned giant swords, fireballs, and orbs of dark energy as he spun his way around his opponents, clearly having a good time.

Even Adeleine and Ribbon, who weren’t keen on fighting, were pitching in as best they could, painting food to provide healing for the group and bringing drawings to life to rain down terror on their opponents. Gooey fired off crackling lasers of dark lightning, causing acolytes to shriek in terror.

“The Squeak’s group is somewhere on the other side.” Magolor yelled out as he whacked a staff-wielding acolyte over the head with a giant magical sword. 

Even the intergalactic thieves had joined the battle? “Who else is with them?”

“Dedede, Meta Knight, Rick and Kine and Coo, Meta Knight’s edgy cousin, and Taranza.”

Bandana didn’t know who ‘Meta Knight’s edgy cousin’ was, but he didn’t have time to wonder about it. “Where’s Kirby?”

“Further ahead. We have to stop their priest from piecing together the Jamba Heart or else the world’s gonna end.”

Those sure were some words that Bandana had absolutely no context for, but it didn’t matter right now. All he had to do was meet up with Kirby to help him save the galaxy for the eight or ninth time now. He moved as one with his spear, easily defeating anything that stood in his way, fueled by pure adrenaline. 

The group fought their way through the cathedral for what felt like hours, though in reality it was probably minutes. Finally -  _ finally  _ \- they met up with the other group, and Bandana had a tearful reunion with the king, before all the allies moved onwards towards the shrine at the end of the world, ready to help Kirby however they could.

It was too late by the time they got there.

Kirby stood at the altar, watching as the mass of darkness and chaos lifted off into the starry sky and soared away.

“Kirby!” Bandana yelled. He whirled around, his bright eyes full of tears. Bandana had never seen Kirby cry before.

“The mages-” Kirby choked out, before full-on sobbing, “Hyness, he took the mages and- they didn’t deserve it…”

Bandana ran up to Kirby and pulled him into a tight hug; Kirby didn’t resist, simply letting himself cry into Bandana’s shoulder loudly. He clung to Bandana tightly, the only source of warmth and comfort in this cold shrine.

“You can still save them.” Bandana said, softly.

“How?”

“I don’t know… but you’re Kirby. If anyone can save them, it’s you.”

Kirby pulled away from Bandana slightly, their faces inches apart. Here, Bandana could see the nebulas and pillars of glittering stars swimming in his eyes, like he was peering into other worlds, and it filled his heart with wonder. He was Kirby of the stars, a friend to everyone, who had defeated that which threatened the peace and happiness of the world over and over again with that unlimited power that seemed to bubble at his fingertips and show itself when the time was ripe. Bandana believed in him. 

“Thank you, Bandee. I’ll try.”

He let go of Bandana, and almost as if responding to his rediscovered hope, four needles of the heart surrounded him, creating wings of stars and rainbows that would let him chase down the darkness and confront it for once and all. 

“Let’s go.” Meta Knight called as he and the king boarded the Star Allies Sparkler, lending a hand to Bandana to hoist him onto the vehicle.

Before they took off, Kirby glanced back at Bandana. His smile was full of love and appreciation, and it made Bandana’s head spin and his heart soar.

They met Void Termina in a sea of stars, and the battle began. 

The power of the Sparkler was overwhelming - fitting for a weapon of legend, but Void was even more powerful, and were it not for the four of them working together the world may have met its end. They pushed the titan further and further - entering its body, even, to attack its heart, before watching it take a new birdlike form to rain havoc down from the air. 

And then they’d knocked it down for a second time, and they went in to destroy its heart for good.

Its heart was waiting, pulsing with power. The iridescent surface shifted and three deep black holes bubbled to its surface, forming a face. Kirby’s face.

_ It had Kirby’s face _ . 

This shattered god at the end of the world, a being made of primordial goo and despair loomed over the quartet. It stared them down with Kirby’s eyes, before its mouth split into a wide grin and it screamed.

Bandana, in their horror, glanced over to his allies. Everyone seemed disturbed, but none more than Kirby, whose eyes almost reflected the hollowness within Void Termina’s, and his trembling arm reached up to the heart.

“Get away!”

Dedede grabbed Kirby and Bandana, pulling them out of the crosshairs of a barrage of energy bullets. Meta Knight whipped around to the backside of the heart, cutting a large gash across its shifting surface, and the final act had begun.

Everything from then on was a bit of a blur - Bandana was almost autopiloting as they fought to destroy the heart of the titan. The false image of Kirby’s face was burned into his mind’s eye, and Kirby himself was almost too shocked to fight, sluggishly ducking out of the way of attacks and firing off bursts of energy towards the heart at random. The face of Void shifted rapidly between familiar and unfamiliar ones - was this an impressionable being? A newly-born god who could only mimic what little they knew? Bandana didn’t know, either.

They forced the heart out of the titan’s body, finally, and Kirby promptly wiped it out of existence with a soul-splitting shock of energy. 

The sea of stars, in response, began to crumble away.

The Sparkler had managed to get them all to safety, somehow. It vanished once Void’s arena had disappeared for good, leaving them floating in the middle of space, and Kirby out cold.

“Kirby. Kirby. Wake up…”

Bandana tried to reach for Kirby, but he was floating just out of range. 

“Kirby, please…”

His fingertips brushed against Kirby’s, just for a second. Kirby’s eyes fluttered open.

“...Bandee?”

Bandana gasped, then sighed in relief. Kirby grabbed his hand and pulled him close. He was warm.

“Welcome back, kiddo.” Dedede smiled, a few feet away. “Ready to call it a day and go home?”

“...Yeah.”

Like clockwork, a Warp Star appeared in front of the quartet, and they were all quick to hold on as it rushed back to Popstar. Kirby and Bandana gripped the star with one hand, and in the other, they were still holding onto each other. 

* * *

After things had become peaceful once again, Kirby seemed to be a little disturbed - which was expected, it’s not every day you fight an eldritch abomination with your own face on it. But the months went by and his cheerful demeanor returned, and soon Kirby had chased it out of his mind, and the two of them went back to their usual slow pace of bothering Dedede, fishing, and going on walks.

Until Magolor once again arrived to deliver the distress signal. The mages were missing, and he knew exactly where they’d gone. Another Dimension.

So Kirby gathered all his allies once again, and they plunged into the rift between worlds, ready to stop whatever they were planning. 

They found the sisters, corrupted and not themselves, chasing after their leader in the chaotic world. They confronted Kirby once more, ready to fight for Hyness’ sake, the three of them working in a frantic tandem.

It was like the battle with Magolor all over again. Meta Knight and King Dedede held back Francisca and Flamberge while Bandana took Zan Partizanne head-on, their spears whirling with precision and grace, locked in a beautiful dance. All those years of honing his craft had led to  _ this _ \- a spear battle in the depths of chaos, and by god did his skill show here. If Zan was herself, the lightning priestess might’ve been overwhelmed by his movement, the way he flicked his wrist to shift his momentum with his weapon. Dedede believed in him, Gryll believed in him,  _ Kirby _ believed in him, and their faith filled him with confidence and gave him the strength to confront the bringer of storms and end her thunder. 

They defeated the mages. Kirby offered up his power of the heart, and they were purified, finally becoming their friends.

The days passed. Everyone began to settle back into their normal routines once more. 

The mages came to visit every now and then. They were working out relationship issues both between themselves and with their leader, Hyness, confronting the abuse they had faced at his hands, and deciding how to proceed from there, but they were now free to do as they wished, and they were healing. Slowly and surely. Peace was returning to the cosmos. 

Something still nagged at the back of Bandana’s mind, at the edges of dreams that he’d forget as soon as he woke up.

He began to notice butterflies lingering around him.


	3. Chapter 3

Bandana was the first to see a shift in Kirby.

He wasn’t sure exactly when it started, but one day he noticed his face seemed to be a little pale, the luster in his eyes a bit duller, his expression just a little off from his usual happy smile.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Kirby grinned. “I’m fine. Just had some weird dreams.”

It convinced him for a little bit. Even he had weird or disturbing dreams sometimes, and it could dampen his mood for the whole day. But this didn’t last a day. 

“Kirby… are you okay?”

Kirby looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept right in days.

“Yeah… still having weird dreams. Don’t worry about me too much.”

“Is something wrong with the Fountain?”

Bandana could see the gears turning in Kirby’s head. “...I don’t think so.”

It lasted weeks. Months. The winter dragged on, and Kirby slowly retreated, becoming more withdrawn and reserved and quiet and totally unlike the lovable pink ball of energy Bandana was so familiar with, until he suddenly realized he wasn’t seeing Kirby around anymore.

Bandana dreamt of Void Termina. 

He found himself in the chest of the titan once again, disoriented by the bright shifting colors that permeated every inch of the space. Void, a brilliant, radiant white, with cracks of beautiful multicolored light spreading across its body, charged at Bandana over and over again, crying out in pain, desperate to destroy him. He was dodging and deflecting its attacks on raw instinct, barely trying to fight back, too stunned to think or feel. 

Lasers streaked through the arena. Bandana threw himself on the floor, desperate to dodge the oncoming onslaught of beams, and he felt the heat of the lasers on the back of his neck as another one just barely clipped him.

The being grabbed him, pinning the Dee against the wall of flesh. There was no sense of up or down. Everything was spinning. Everything felt distorted. He couldn’t move.

It shifted again, assuming Kirby’s face as it leered down towards him, hollow red eyes meeting deep amber ones. The immense power radiating off Void was suffocating, overwhelming, unfathomable, and it filled Bandana with an inexplicable sadness.

Maybe it was the angle, the lighting, the shock and horror of it all - but the being looked exactly like Kirby. Kirby, the hero who had come from the stars on a breeze, like some sort of divine miracle.

Bandana was starting to understand, just barely.

* * *

He woke up cold, drenched in sweat, but with a fire of determination in his heart.

_He had to see Kirby._

Bandana wrote a quick note, leaving it on his bunk, though there was no guarantee anyone else was going to be able to read it since he could barely see his own handwriting in the darkness. He crept out of the castle barracks, careful not to wake any of the others, hunting down his locker and grabbing a thick coat and boots to deal with the winter cold. There were likely to be guards at the front entrance, and with his authority he could get past them very easily, but he didn’t want to bother with that. There were passageways he could take to get to the outside of Mount Dedede - he knew the castle’s layout by heart at this point.

His footsteps echoed through the empty corridors. Bright moonlight filtered through the icy windows and flooded the floors. He could feel the cold chill of the outdoor air blowing through the halls.

He moved a large painting slightly, revealing a small passageway behind, and entered, pulling the secret door shut behind him. He couldn’t see a thing, but he’d used the passageway enough to know exactly where he was going.

Bandana emerged from the other side of the passage. He could see his favorite spring far below on the mountain, and a few miles off in the distance, Kirby’s house.

A Warp Star was waiting for him outside. He knew why it was there, and didn’t hesitate to hop on. In a matter of moments, it deposited him on Kirby’s doorstep.

He inhaled, sharply, steeled himself, and knocked again. 

Little footsteps shuffled behind the door.

“...Who is it?” Kirby’s soft voice could barely be heard - he must be in another room.

“It’s Bandee.” Bandana started. “What’s wrong?”

There was a long pause. Bandana shivered.

“...Go away.”

“No.” Bandana responded. “I haven’t seen you in days, Kirby - _no-one_ has. I don’t know what’s going on, but please let me help you.”

There was another long silence, and some sort of shuffling noise.

“I’m coming in.” Bandana warned, and opened the door.

The first thing he noticed is that it was frigid inside - the only heating in the house came from Kirby’s fireplace, which looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Even in here his breath was still making visible clouds in the air, but he was quick to hang up his coat and take off his shoes, now only left in his pajamas. 

He quickly made to Kirby’s tiny bedroom, stopping short at the entrance.

Kirby was curled up in his bed, buried under thick blankets, sporting a serious case of bedhead with only his eyes peering above the edge of his quilt. And he looked…

Hollow.

“Kirby, it’s freezing in here.” Bandana said, after a few moments. His heart was pounding in his chest. “I’m gonna start up the fireplace.”

Kirby hummed indifferently. Bandana turned away, picking up the spare wood by Kirby’s fireplace and placing it inside, scrounging around for a match in the dark. Once he’d gotten ahold of one, he lit the wood and stood back, opening the fireplace’s flue to let the smoke vent. It wasn’t much of a fire, but it was enough to warm up the place a bit.

“Are you hungry?” He asked Kirby.

“...Not really.” Kirby responded, which was an immediate sign that something was terribly wrong with him. 

Another minute of silence between the two. Bandana prodded at the fire, helping it catch ahold of the wood to warm up the tiny little home. 

After the fire was big enough, Bandana returned to Kirby’s room and sat at the side of the bed, giving Kirby plenty of space. 

“...Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Bandana asked gently.

“I don’t know.” Kirby responded, curling up further into a ball.

“Why?”

Kirby sniffled a little bit. Had he been crying…?

“I don’t think you would l-like me if I told you…”

“Kirby… I’ll always like you, no matter what. I just want to help you feel better.”

The tree outside blew in the wind, shifting the shadows on the floor.

“...Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” Bandana asked, almost on impulse.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Of course. Scoot over.”

Kirby obliged, making space for Bandana, and the boy laid down next to him, turning to face Kirby. He put an arm over him. 

This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been cuddly with Kirby - Kirby himself was a very touchy-feely person and would often use Bandana’s fishing as an opportunity to cozy up next to him and take a nap, and Bandana had let many, many fish get away for the sake of not waking up Kirby. Something this time felt different - Bandana had never seen Kirby this vulnerable before. 

“...I don’t think I’m a good person.” Kirby began.

Bandana’s heart sunk. “Wh...what makes you say that? You’re a hero…”

“But- wh-what if I start doing… bad things? I could hurt people, or destroy planets, or-”

“Woah, what do you mean by _destroy planets_?”

“I could- I could do it.” Kirby sniffled. “Like the stuff I did to Magolor, and miss Sectonia, and mister Haltmann and- and- the mages and Hyness-”

“Kirby, you _aren’t_ like Void.”

Kirby froze up, his eyes wide with shock. 

“I- I had a dream tonight.” Bandana started. “And I don’t really understand what Void is, and I don’t know how you’re related to it - but that doesn’t matter, you’re _not_ a destroyer of worlds. You’re a hero. Everyone loves you…”

Kirby fell totally silent. All Bandana could hear was the crackling of the fire. 

“I think they only like me because I’m strong…”

“That’s not true.” Bandana retorted.

“What if it is?” Kirby cried. “When those people first found me they sent me after Dedede ‘cos no one else could fight him. What happens if one day I can’t protect everyone, and they hate me, or what if I start being like Void and hurting people and no one can stop me??”

“Kirby-” Bandana inhaled sharply, and the cold air burned his throat. “You would never do something like that. You’ve gone out of your way to help so many people you don’t even know - The people of Dreamland, Gooey, Ribbon, Magolor, Elline - even when Magolor betrayed your trust and tried to take over the universe, you were _still_ willing to forgive him, way before I could even _think_ about forgiving him.”

Bandana took a shaky breath.

“I… I look up to you a lot, Kirby, I mean, I used to want to beat you just to make Dedede happy, but you never had anything against me, even when I was mean to you. But you’re so strong and brave and kind to everyone and you’re cute and sweet and you just make everyone _happy_ , and I _know_ you would never do something evil or hurt anyone just because you could. I don’t know how Void is connected to you, but you’re not… like that - if it used to be you, or something, you’re different now, you use your powers for good. And… I know you’re scared, that you might not be able to protect the planet or save everyone all the time, but I promise you I will always be there for you and I will never let you down, because I love you, okay?”

His heart was pounding in his chest, and all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears.

“I…” Kirby sniffled. “I’m sorry for hiding from you. Thank you, Bandee...”

“Don’t say sorry. It’s okay to be scared…”

Kirby sighed, finally giving Bandana a smile, and he could feel a wave of relief washing over him. 

Then Kirby abruptly frowned.

“Wait, you love me?”

Bandana’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Huh?”

“You… said you love me.” Kirby’s voice almost sounded panicky, but his eyes were glittering with hope. “You said you’d never let me down because you love me-”

“I mean- um, yeah, I do… I love you. Like, a lot. I-I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I… I love you too, Bandee. Also a lot.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah!” Kirby responded nervously. “I… I like being with you and playing with you and doing stuff with you and I think you’re cute and nice and strong and you work really hard and I really like that, and I-I wanna cuddle, a-and kiss and go on picnics and stuff, like what people do in fairy tales-”

Bandana only realized then that his mouth was open in shock.

“I, um-” Kirby started. “If you don’t wanna do those things, it’s okay… but I wanted to tell you. Cause I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time. I was... scared you wouldn’t like me if I told you.”

“Of course not!” Bandana said, very aware that his cheeks were bright red. “I… I wanna do those things too, actually.”

Kirby didn’t say anything back, but he shifted the heavy covers and drew them over Bandana, before pulling him into a hug. He was soft, like hugging a plushie, and warm - _so_ warm, much different from the air, though the house had warmed up a bit thanks to the fire that had now dwindled to embers. Bandana wrapped his arms around Kirby in response, pulling him a little bit closer and shifting to get comfortable under the blankets. 

Their faces were only inches apart now, and Bandana felt like Kirby could probably feel the heat coming off of his cheeks. 

“D-do you, um…” Bandana started, very quietly, his heart pounding in his throat. “Want a kiss? To feel better?”

Kirby nodded. 

Bandana leaned closer, carefully, and gave Kirby a slow, gentle kiss. His whole body felt like it was burning with warmth, and Kirby snuggled a bit closer, wrapping himself tight around Bandana.

The Dee pulled away, and Kirby giggled happily. “That tickles.”

Bandana felt some sort of low rumble coming from Kirby’s chest. “Kirby… are you purring?”

Kirby giggled again. “I can’t help it.”

“You’re so cute.” Bandana said in a daze, his face tingling. “How do you do it?”

“Issa secret.”

Bandana responded by kissing Kirby softly again, only making him giggle more, before he yawned. 

“I’m sleepy…”

“Then go to sleep.” Bandana said.

“But I wanna stay up with youuuu.” Kirby complained.

“I’ll be here in the morning, you dummy.” He retorted. “You really should get some rest.”

“I thought you had training?”

“I left a note for Dedede. I’m sure he’ll understand - he knows how important you are to me.”

“But your training is important to you, too…”

Bandana put a finger to Kirby’s lips to shush him. “Training can wait. I just want to be with you right now. Now go sleep.”

“Okay! Goodnight, Bandee.” Kirby leaned over a bit and gave Bandana a little kiss on the cheek, and Bandana’s heart warmed and he smiled.

“Goodnight, Kirby.” He responded, but Kirby was already out like a light, gently purring in Bandana’s arms. Bandana’s whole being felt warm and fuzzy, only compounded by Kirby’s own warmth and softness and the gentle pressure of the blankets, which were all quickly lulling him to sleep as well. 

He had time to press one more kiss to Kirby’s forehead before he became too drowsy to stay awake. 

* * *

Bandana woke up early to dawn breaking and the sound of birds chirping outside.

This was about the time he’d normally wake up for spear training - but he wasn’t at Castle Dedede, he was at Kirby’s house, in his bed, with Kirby sound asleep and snuggled in his arms.

The room was full of soft golden light, catching on Kirby’s fluffy hair and coloring it a soft orange. Bandana’s… best friend? boyfriend? smiled, babbling in his sleep about a giant apple pie.

Was Kirby his boyfriend now? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to worry about it for now. 

“...Love you, Bandee.” Kirby mumbled sleepily, stirring slightly. He blinked, stars glittering in his blue eyes.

“I love you too, Kirby.” Bandana whispered, stroking his hair. Kirby smiled happily, and soon the two of them had gently drifted off to dreamland again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to my homies in the jahbimbos server for giving input and also motivation because this took me 8 months to finish lol
> 
> kirbandee real


End file.
